A New Brain

The Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) presents the comical musical A New Brain, directed by OOBR award winning director (and APAC Artistic Director) Brian Swasey.

A New Brain tells the story of Gordon, a struggling songwriter, who suffers a medical crisis when something goes wrong with his brain and he is forced to undergo surgery. At the time he is struck by illness, he is reluctantly composing a song for a children’s television show featuring a frog by the name of "Mr. Bungee." The specter of this large green character and the unfinished work haunts him throughout his medical ordeal as he learns to appreciate life’s precious moments, and finds new inspiration to compose the songs he yearns to produce.

Originally premiering Off-Broadway, A New Brain, with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine, dealt directly with Finn’s own harrowing personal experience with illness. However autobiographical A New Brain may be, it is a worthy follow-up to his celebrated Tony Award-winning production Falsettos, which also touched on medical matters in lively, unexpected ways.

The cast includes Yolanda Batts, Justin Birdsong, Jim Dimarino, Sevan Greene, Dan Maceyak and Julie Rees, as well as Doug Chitel, Lois Hart, Joe Pace and Stephanie Wilberding who are appearing courtesy of Actor’s Equity, with musical direction by Jeffrey Campos.